Portnahaven ( gd, Port na h-Abhainne, meaning river port) is a village on

Islay Islay ( ; gd, Ìle, sco, Ila) is the southernmost island of the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. Known as "The Queen of the Hebrides", it lies in Argyll just south west of Jura, Scotland, Jura and around north of the Northern Irish coast. The isl ...

in the

Inner Hebrides The Inner Hebrides (; Scottish Gaelic: ''Na h-Eileanan a-staigh'', "the inner isles") is an archipelago off the west coast of mainland Scotland, to the south east of the Outer Hebrides. Together these two island chains form the Hebrides, whic ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. The village is within the parish of

Kilchoman Kilchoman ( or ; gd, Cill Chomain ) is a small settlement and large parish on the Scottish island of Islay, within the unitary council of Argyll and Bute. Settlement The settlement of Kilchoman consists of a small number of houses gather ...

. In 1991 it had a population of 150. It is located at the southern tip of the

Rinns The Rinns of Islay (Scottish Gaelic: Na Roinn Ìleach; alternative English spelling Rhinns of Islay) is an area on the west of the island of Islay in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, ...

at the southern end of the

A847 road The A847 road is one of the two principal roads of Islay in the Inner Hebrides off the west coast of mainland Scotland. It connects Bridgend, at a junction with the A846 road, with Portnahaven at the southern end of the Rinns of Islay penin ...

. The A847 follows the coast from Portnahaven to Port Charlotte and

Bridgend Bridgend (; cy, Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr or just , meaning "the end of the bridge on the Ogmore") is a town in Bridgend County Borough in Wales, west of Cardiff and east of Swansea. The town is named after the Old Bridge, Bridgend, medieval bridge ...

. Its harbour is sheltered by the island of

Orsay Orsay () is a Communes of France, commune in the Essonne Departments of France, department in Île-de-France in northern France. It is located in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France, from the Kilometre Zero, centre of Paris. A fortifie ...

and its smaller neighbour

Eilean Mhic Coinnich Eilean Mhic Coinnich, also known as Mackenzie Island (although recorded on the Land Register as McKenseys Island), is an uninhabited island of , lying off the southern end of the Rinns of Islay peninsula on the Inner Hebridean island of Islay, Sc ...

. The Rinns of Islay lighthouse, built by Stevenson is located on Orsay. Portnahaven is served by a

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

, one shop which is also a

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

, and a

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

, An Tigh Seinnse. The church is one of the Telford Churches. The harbour around which the village is built provides the opportunity to observe

grey seals The grey seal (''Halichoerus grypus'') is found on both shores of the North Atlantic Ocean. In Latin Halichoerus grypus means "hook-nosed sea pig". It is a large seal of the family Phocidae, which are commonly referred to as "true seals" or " ...

at close quarters. The village of

Port Wemyss A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ha ...

is located just to the south of Portnahaven. North of Portnahaven, at Claddach, is the world's first operational

wave power Wave power is the capture of energy of wind waves to do useful work – for example, electricity generation, water desalination, or pumping water. A machine that exploits wave power is a wave energy converter (WEC). Waves are generated by wind p ...

machine. The "

Islay LIMPET Islay LIMPET was the world's first commercial wave power device and was connected to the United Kingdom's National Grid. History Islay LIMPET (Land Installed Marine Power Energy Transmitter) was developed and operated by Wavegen in cooperatio ...

", constructed by

Wavegen Wavegen Limited (later Voith Hydro Wavegen Limited) was a wave energy company based in Inverness, Scotland. It was founded in 1990 by Allan Thomson. It was sold to Voith Hydro in 2005, and they closed the company in 2013. History In 2000, Waveg ...

, became operational in 2000. Nearby settlements include the village of

Nerabus Nerabus (otherwise Nereabolls) is a hamlet in the west of the isle of Islay in Scotland. The vicinity is noted for its scenic qualities and diverse birdlife BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations tha ...

References

External links

Photographs and brief description
Villages in Islay {{Argyll-geo-stub